The Day | On Budgets and Murals

It’s finally Friday, but the ongoing debate over the budget for city schools may keep you talking through the weekend. According to BoogieDowner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson sent out a letter Thursday protesting Chancellor Cathie Black’s new budget requirement for school principals. For the first time, school principals have been asked to give a portion of their year-end surplus back to the city, rather than “roll over” their budget to the following year. How will East Village schools be affected? Read more about the proposed education cuts here.

And DNAinfo reports that the East Village graffiti artist Angel “LA II” Ortiz missed his own gallery opening last week after his arrest for – what else? – graffiti, after the authorities said that he tagged an East Village building the night before his collection was scheduled to open at Dorian Grey Gallery on East Ninth Street. Mr. Ortiz calls the streets his canvases, but art lovers can also view his work indoors, with his exhibit on display through April 17.

Of course, the East Village mural on Houston and Bowery, otherwise known as the Dietch Wall, pictured above, is always accessible to fans of street art. But after some taggers recently took turns on the work by Kenny Scharf, gallery workers from The Hole, which curates the wall, cleaned up the mess Thursday, according to Bowery Boogie.

East Village graffiti is just one manifestation of the recurring battle between the old and the new. EV Grieve shares photos of what the blog calls “intruding buildings” collected over the past year, “lurking, menacing in the background.”

And here comes the sun, but not for long; today’s high of 70 degrees will most likely cloud over Monday, with rain in the low 50’s.

How Does Your School Stack Up?

Hello, Neighbors

The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »